So Much For the Afterglow

It was cold outside, bitterly so, and the old furnace that fueled the apartment was having a hard time keeping up with the weather. Dorien, however didn't mind the cold. Not when he had someone to keep him warm.

Misery lay next to him huddled under thick blankets, grinning lazily at him as he sighed contentedly. They were both breathing heavily after their latest round of experimentation. They were both thoroughly worn out for the moment.

Dorien pulled Misery close and kissed her, wiping damp wisps of hair back from out of his eyes.

"Mercy... I give up," he said with a breathless laugh, "You're gonna give me a heart attack. I'm not as young as you, you know."

"Yeah, and you're only going to get older," Misery pointed out 'helpfully', "while I stay young for another few hundred years." She kissed him on the cheek.

Dorien gave her a playful scowl.

"Young *and* immature, I'm sure" he said, running his hand along her back.

"But... speaking of the future... there's something I've been wanting to talk to you about."

"What is it?" Misery asked, a bit warily.

Dorien bit his lip, trying to think how to phrase his dilemma.

"I saw my father yesterday. He told me he'd been talking to some people about... finding me a job. He has contacts. Good ones. In the industry. There's a job for a chemist at a rubber factory. It would be similar to what I was doing when... when I had my accident."

Dorien sighed, absently running his fingers through Misery's long, curly hair.

"It would be honest work, but... I don't know if I can do that again after everything that's happened. I don't know if I even want to."

Misery considered the dilemma for a moment. "It would pay pretty well, I imagine? Would you find the work interesting?"

"Well, I imagine it would pay better than working at Tits' at least. My father wouldn't suggest it if he didn't think it was 'fitting' for his son. But... I don't know if I would find it interesting. When I was at the Valent Plant I was bored out of my mind. At least he said it would be research and development. I'd be generating new products; new ideas. I could do that, I think. If it's not grunt work... Maybe it wouldn't be too bad. But what if... what if I make a mistake? What if I hurt someone again? I can't..."

Dorien trailed off, his eyes downcast and glossing over with half-formed tears.

"Hey," Misery said, pulling him closer for a hug. "It's not explosives. It's not even drugs. It's rubber. I'm not an expert, but I don't think there are a lot of rubber-related injuries."

Dorien nodded, resting his head on her shoulder, but he still seemed unsure.

"What about you?" he asked quietly, "I mean... if I'm not here..."

"I think I know enough to get along, at least - you could still help me if there was something I wasn't sure about," she suggested. "And maybe, depending how much you like sleep, you could still come to the club in the evenings at least, to help with sales."

Dorien relaxed slightly in her arms. He sighed and kissed her forehead gently.

"You've learned so much already," he said, "You have a good head for this sort of thing. Maybe... maybe I could find you something too. Something less dangerous. Maybe we could find the money to pay off your mother's debt."

She smiled slightly, but with a cynical look. "Some big company is going to hire a teenage Shadar-kai girl with no work experience that I can tell them about other than working in a restaurant? It's sweet of you to think of me, but... I'm pretty sure that's not going to happen."

"I'll think of something," he said, trying to sound certain of it despite his own doubts, "I'm not just going to leave you here. Maybe I can get you a real apprenticeship. Mme. Sormet might be able to help. She has contacts. It's all about who you know in this game."

"Mmm. I'll think about it," she said, kissing his cheek. "In the meanwhile, if you think this might be a good opportunity for you, why not try it? If it doesn't work out, you always have this to fall back on."

Dorien nodded.

"Ok..." he said, "I'll try..."

He lay his head against her chest as she ran her fingers through his hair, for the moment content to simply be with her, and let the future take care of itself.